It is summer in Scotland – as near to the solstice as makes no difference, which means that there is still daylight at bedtime and birds wake you up uncomfortably early. By “birds” I mean crows and wood pigeons. The latter’s call is insistent –
Two coos, Boo-Boo!
Look! Two coos, Boo-Boo!
Look…
and when one finishes another starts. Still, it is nice to be able to walk around one’s garden before retiring for the night, and to get up with sun peeking through the curtains. What is this time of year like for you. Is it mid-winter in Tierra del Fuego? Or are the seasons where you are marked by something else – the rain? the cherry blossom? high wind?
In this Showcase I have featured some photographs of the Saxon church of St Lawrence in Bradford on Avon, England. Most were taken by contributor John Hawkhead, some of whose poetry has appeared in earlier Showcases and who has some more in this one. I also have material by returnees, Pawel Markiewicz and Randy Brooks. Beyond that, I am glad to welcome several new names to the zen space. It is worth mentioning that I try my best to prioritise new contributors, which means that submissions by “frequent fliers” often have to go into a reservoir for later use. I’m sure you all understand.
Please note that credit for artwork is always given in the editorial paragraphs.
Onwards and upwards – haiku and short-burst, in-the-moment poetry is what we’re about – so with due apologies for the glitches of WordPress, which seem to bug us every time, enjoy the showcase!
Marie Marshall
editor
the zen space
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Pawel Markiewicz
:::
beach in the lagoon
a letter in the bottle
– pirate’s prayer
:
nightingale in cage
of gold – at moon enchanted
by meek wanderer
:
museum and gold
the Aztec spirit reigns
at a moonlit night
:
starry starlit night
I am digging up bones
of druidic priest
:
motherland’s treasure
– that cuplets of old Judas
for sure? In good hands
:
Egyptian treasure
hidden in dreamed villa
of your destiny
:
moony dreamy dawn
I collected antlers of
The Homo Faber
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John Hawkhead
:
briefly brighter
a band of stars
just before dawn
:
kissing her scars
winter branches scrape
across the moon
:
zen garden
raking perfect circles
to drown in
:
acorn season
the increased bounce
in her step
:
the day she told me
absolutely everything
clouds under clouds
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Monica Kakkar
dayspring coups d’état—
lovey dovey in dovecote
coos in summer dew
:
prismatic palette
tiny buntings in backyard—
Mother’s Day mirage
:
organza billows …
look out a rebel shutter
few forget-me-nots
:
owls in trees’ hollows
“trespassers … prosecuted”–-
bungalow awaits
:
centerstaged afar
poised prima ballerina—
flower moon en pointe
:
dew drops pirouette—
VIBGYOR freedom everywhere
solstice finale
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Morley Cacoethes
:
I practice the art
of suffering until I
forget to suffer.
:
Come, Money Buddha,
sit zazen in the southwest
corner of my heart.
:
In the empty beer
bottle, the summer cockroach
soaks up the sunshine.
:
I watch the spring mist
rise to envelop my feet,
envelop my self.
:
At the food shelter,
we chew silently, wonder
what happens after…
:
Sitting in zazen,
Breathing, Forgetting ego,
yet Growling stomach.
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Joshua St. Claire
:
American chestnut
the persistence
of its pollards
:
we pay for it
with power lines:
a sunset
:
waning sliver moon
crossing the Susquehanna
mayflies
:
summer squall
a dumbledore smacks smacks smacks
my window
:
a few elm catkins
and then a myriad
childhood’s end
:
Petrichor
the scent
of lily bulbs
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Katherine E Winnick
:
ripened plums
I plant the seeds
to my future
:
spring equinox –
my children speak
in tongues
:
Hanami –
the chill of winter
in my bones
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Randy Brooks
:
jenny wren
the song her mother
chattered back
:
morning dew
on muddy ripe tomatoes
a swing set seat
:
beach stone
an oyster holds on
for years
:
Amish grandson
his Hummer
has no chrome
:
afloat on
a boogie board . . .
you are always with me
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James Shapiro
:
in a jubilant garden
briars catch a ride on trousers
:
surrender to one who can sing
a dirty dog
can rest in the shade of a nightingale
:
wind chime walks
with wind
tang-tang!
:
this old temple
now that Bankei’s left
who will rake wild pines’
rain of needles
:
o que é isso
what is this?
and the bem-te-vi
sings this once
& many many times
:
paper and ink
can’t agree
unable to divorce
entranced and disappointed,
agree to stay
:
birds,
are you leaves?
birds or leaves, no matter
flung high
salute this blue white sky
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News
Anthony Ip of Hong Kong Baptist University writes to us to announce the publication of the Routledge Global Haiku Reader, a collection of leading essays on haiku geared for haiku poets, scholars, and general readers that ushers haiku studies into the 21st century. The Reader includes essays by Haruo Shirane, Hiroaki Sato, Richard Gilbert, Charles Trumbull, and Philip Rowland, among many others. Read the abstract of the book here.
Gabriel Rosenstock sent me this link to a YouTube channel of Photo-Haiku – sorry, Gabriel, I forgot to mention this in the previous Showcase.
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Afterword:
As always, I am looking out for new “names” who can write haiku, senryu, and/or any short-burst in-the-moment poetry. Also original artwork. Please get in touch.
The next Showcase at the zen space will be Autumn 2023 which will be released, subject to karma, on 1st October 2023.
Please note that the copyright of all written work and images used in this Showcase and elsewhere in the zen space is held by the creating author/artist, even when not explicitly stated, and may not be used elsewhere without permission.
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[Any advertisements etc. below this line, or inserted elsewhere in the zen space, are an unfortunate feature of the hosting platform, and are not the responsibility of the editor of the zen space. They should not be considered to have been endorsed by the zen space or by the editor personally.]
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